When Horses Run Wild, City Slickers Corral 'Em

Published: May 14, 2005

The horses galloped past a Starbucks, a Gristedes and a Papaya King.

''I heard someone screaming, 'Look out! Watch out!''' said Carla Morreale, who had just come out of a subway station at 14th Street when she saw the horses galloping toward her. She ducked into a building entryway with two other women. ''You don't expect horses to be charging towards you on your way to work on the sidewalk in Manhattan,'' said Ms. Morreale, who works for a software company.

It was a wild scene yesterday morning and it all began, the police said, when a van hit the back of another vehicle on 14th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. But the vehicle that was bumped was a red wooden stagecoach with yellow wagon wheels being pulled by two horses on its way to Union Square to promote Shania Twain perfume.

The wagon tipped over onto its side, flinging the two men driving it from their seats, the police said. The two white horses, Hero and Princess, each weighing more than 1,000 pounds, broke away, sprinting down the sidewalk. One of the drivers chased the horses, who were heading east, yelling at people to get out of the way. And many did, fleeing into the street and running into building entryways. Chester Burroughs, 62, said he was sitting at his desk inside the lobby of the Teamsters union building on 14th Street when he saw the horses run by. ''I had to get up and look again,'' he said. ''It was strange to see two horses loose on 14th Street.''

Blanch Peltenbusch, 68, was sitting inside the Odyssey coffee shop when the horses went by. ''I saw a man running down the street yelling, 'Ho! Whoa!''' she said.

Hero was eventually corralled at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue by police officers who came from an antiterrorism drill in Union Square. The police did not have details about how the officers stopped the horse, but after doing so they tied him to a lamppost.

Princess proved harder to catch. She ran east along 14th Street to Fifth Avenue, turned right and then turned right again onto 13th Street.

''It was flying with the flow of traffic,'' said Bob Di Giorgio, a crane operator working at a nearby construction site.

But when a light ahead of her turned red and the cars in front started to stop, the horse tried to slow down and started skidding before stopping behind a sedan, Mr. Di Giorgio said. Her skid marks, stretching about 50 feet on the black pavement, were still visible on the street yesterday afternoon.

With the horse stuck in traffic, Mr. Di Giorgio saw his chance. ''I leaned over the barrier, grabbed the reins, and restrained the horse,'' he said, describing a move that would have been far more common on city streets a century ago.

The driver of the car that stopped behind Princess jumped out to help. ''It was a joint effort,'' Mr. Di Giorgio said. ''Luckily, the light turned red.''

Thomas Bender, a 48-year-old construction worker, led Princess down the street until he found the police, who tied the horse to a tree.

Kazim Palaz, one of the drivers of the stagecoach, was taken to St. Vincent's Manhattan Hospital after he complained of shoulder pain. He was treated and released. The whereabouts of the other coach driver was unknown yesterday.

Shania Twain perfume will not go on the market for several weeks, said the woman who answered the 800 phone number listed on the side of the stagecoach. Later, the number was disconnected.

Susan Goldberg of the Tractenberg public relations company, which represents the maker of the perfume, said she did not know of any promotional event for the new fragrance that was scheduled for Union Square yesterday -- far less one involving two horses and a red stagecoach.

By yesterday afternoon, Princess and Hero were back at their home, the Chateau Stables on West 48th Street. The red stagecoach, now upright, was outside on the street with a photo of Shania Twain, wearing a Stetson, emblazoned on three sides.

Asked if Princess and Hero would be coming out to work again, one worker at the stable said, ''They're done for the day.''

Photos: Officers work to right a stagecoach after a van hit it on 14th Street yesterday. The coach's horses went racing down the streets of Manhattan. (Photo by Frances Roberts for The New York Times)(pg. B1); Two horses that broke free after their stagecoach was hit by a van were later found and placed in a trailer. (Photo by Frances Roberts for The New York Times)(pg. B2)